It’s Time to Get the Road on the Go : San Diego should accept compromise and open important North County route

Ask North County residents to name the biggest problems facing their region, and traffic is almost guaranteed to be No. 1 or 2 on the list.

The shortage of east-west routes in the fast-growing region is particularly vexing for rush-hour commuters. Yet a section of Pomerado Road, a four-lane route between Poway and Interstate 15 in the northern reaches of San Diego, has been sitting idle since late last year while the two cities have battled in court over when to open the road.

San Diego used an untested section of state law to try to thwart Poway’s quest to open the road. But the real issue is the peace and quiet--and safety, says the city--of Scripps Ranch, an upscale, politically active community. (Its most recent successful show of force was the recall of San Diego City Councilwoman Linda Bernhardt.)

A winding, dangerous portion of Pomerado Road was closed for improvements in late 1988 after the city of San Diego acquired the road as part of an annexation. And Scripps Ranch residents found life a little more serene without the road full of commuters in their neighborhood, thank you. They want to keep the road blocked until a parallel route, South Poway/Scripps North Parkway, can be opened. Never mind that the Pomerado closure dumps thousands of extra cars each day onto Poway Road farther north.

San Diego and Poway have had an agreement for years to jointly build the parkway, but San Diego’s disputes with developers, fueled by opposition from Scripps Ranch, plus problems acquiring right of way kept the road in limbo until recently.

The San Diego City Council has been swimming upstream on the Pomerado Road issue since the beginning. Both the Superior Court and the state Court of Appeal have ruled in favor of opening the road.

The courts were right. This is a regional issue. It’s also a good example of the need for more regional government.

Poway has wisely agreed to keep trucks off the stretch of road and to improve the timing of stoplights in an attempt to keep traffic volume to what it was before the road was closed.

That is a reasonable compromise. San Diego should accept its defeats in court and open the road.